The Inquisition—which had been abolished by both Joseph Bonaparte and the Cortes of Cádiz during the French occupation—was ended again by the Progresista government, summoning up accusations of being nothing more than afrancesados (Francophiles), who only six years before had been forced out of the country. The liberal Partido Progresista, however, continued to exist as a political force, even if it was excluded from actual policy-making by Ferdinand's restored government. 16th-Century Overview. For this failure there are at least some good reasons. Although Mexico had been in revolt in 1811 under Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, resistance to Spanish rule had largely been confined to small guerrilla bands in the countryside. Public opinion in Spain blamed the king and Godoy for the invasion of their country. The remainder of Ferdinand's reign was spent restoring domestic stability and the integrity of Spain's finances, which had been in ruins since the occupation of the Napoleonic Wars. A revolt in 1820 led by Rafael del Riego forced him to restore the constitution thus beginning the Liberal Triennium: a three-year period of liberal rule. Although Ferdinand was committed to the reconquest of the colonies, along with many of the Continental European powers, the British government was opposed to the move which would hinder her new commercial interests. In spite of Bravo and Narváez's efforts to suppress the unrest in Spain, which included lingering Carlist sentiments and progressista supporters of the old Espartero government, Spain's situation remained uneasy. The end of the wars in the Americas improved the government's financial situation, and by the end of Ferdinand's rule the economic and fiscal situation in Spain was improving. Riego himself was hanged, and he would become a martyr for the liberal cause in Spain and would be memorialized in the anthem of the Second Spanish Republic, El Himno de Riego, more than a century later. At the beginning of 1823, as a result of the Congress of Verona, the French invaded Spain, "invoking the God of St. Louis, for the sake of preserving the throne of Spain to a descendant of Henry IV, and of reconciling that fine kingdom with Europe." Narváez's support for the queen by this time was lukewarm; he had been sacked and seen enough governments thrown out by the queen in his lifetime that he, and much of the cortes had great doubts about her ability. The biggest battle of the war, the Battle of Pasteral (January 1849) was inconclusive; Cabrera, however, was wounded and lost confidence. The Cortes opened their sessions in September 1810 on the Isle of Leon. Spain was all but bankrupt. Murillo carried the same authoritarian tendencies as Narváez but made serious efforts to advance Spanish industry and commerce. The decision to abrogate the Constitution was not welcomed by all, however. By the beginning of 1810, the Spanish forces under Central Junta's command, the independent government, had suffered serious military defeat at the Battle of Ocaña. British railroad builders were pessimistic about the potential for freight and passenger traffic and did not invest. There were no children, because her two pregnancies (in 1804 and 1805) both ended in miscarriages. On 4 May he ordered its abolition and on 10 May had the liberal leaders responsible for the Constitution arrested. The Cortes of Cádiz was the first national assembly to claim sovereignty in Spain and the Spanish Empire. Espartero's constitution included provisions for the freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and, most importantly, a more liberal suffrage than the Constitution of 1845 allowed for. Alfonso XIII. Olózaga, a liberal, was succeeded by Luis González Bravo, a moderate, inaugurating a decade of moderado rule. Read this information. A "Progresista" (liberal) government was appointed, though the king expressed his disaffection with the new administration and constitution. Ferdinand VII (Spanish: Fernando; 14 October 1784 – 29 September 1833) was the King of Spain during the early- to mid-19th century. Luis González Bravo, leading the moderate faction, dissolved the cortes himself and ruled by royal decree. "Spain and Portugal and the Loss of their Continental American Territories in the 1820s: An Examination of the Issues. President Luis González Bravo was Isabella's first stable president during her effective kingdom, ruling for 6 straight months (from that moment on he would remain loyal to the queen until the end of her kingdom, acting as her very last president decades later at the outbreak of the 1868 Revolution). The marauding armies seized farmers' crops; more important, farmers lost much of their livestock, their main capital asset. This put him into a difficult situation, as the progresistas had had some progress in improving Spain's financial situation through those programs. Ferdinand's rule included the loss of the Spanish colonies in the New World, except for Cuba and Puerto Rico, in the 1810s and 1820s. In 1830, at the advice of his wife, Maria Christina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Ferdinand decreed a Pragmatic Sanction that had the effect of fundamental law in Spain. The Spanish army, fraught by internal divisions, offered little resistance to the well organised French force, who seized Madrid and reinstalled Ferdinand as absolute monarch. A series of civil wars then broke out in Spain, pitting Spanish liberals and then republicans against conservatives, culminating in the Carlist Wars between the moderate Queen Isabella and her uncle, the reactionary Infante Carlos. Before the coup became an outright revolution, King Ferdinand agreed to the demands of the revolutionaries and swore by the constitution. Battle of Trafalgar French and Spanish forces were defeated by the British at the Battle of Trafalgar. The French Revolution is the cause for the first liberal movements in Spain. With the king's death in 1833 Spain finally abandoned all plans of military re-conquest. Yet the Spaniards fought a guerrilla war against the French. As Ferdinand lay dying, his new wife Maria Christina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies had him set aside the Salic Law which would have made his brother Don Carlos heir to the throne instead of any female. The "Central Junta" dissolved itself on 29 January 1810, and set up a five-person Regency. In an attempt to reestablish the integrity of local tradition, King Charles IV decreed at the turn of the 19th century that all foreign operas be performed in Spanish by Spanish citizens. While Zumalacárregui agitated for a campaign to take Madrid, Carlos ordered his commander to take a port on the coast. However, when she became regent for her daughter Isabella in 1833, she made it clear to the court that she intended no such reforms. The resistance of the cortes, however, meant that most of his term was spent deadlocked; the coalition that Espartero relied on was built on both liberals and moderates, who disagreed fundamentally on the ideology of the new constitution and policies. Isabella then sacked Peñaranda – to the ire of the moderados – and replaced him with Francisco Javier Istúriz. Generals Juan Prim and Francisco Serrano denounced the government and much of the army defected to the revolutionary generals on their arrival in Spain. The rebellion grew, and by 1848 it was relevant enough that Carlos sponsored it himself and named Ramón Cabrera as commander of the Carlist armies in Spain. From Paris, Maria Cristina railed against the decision and attracted the support of the moderados in the Cortes. [3] In his name Spain fought for its independence and in his name as well juntas had governed Spanish America. In 1836, the president of the government, Juan Álvarez Mendizábal, offered a program of desamortización, the Ecclesiastical Confiscations of Mendizábal, that involved the confiscation and sale of church, mainly monastic, property. Many proposed Isabella's young son Alfonso (the future Alfonso XII of Spain), but many thought that he would invariably be dominated by his mother and would inherit her flaws. Alfonso XIII (of the eponymous Seville hotel) and his English queen - Victoria Eugenia, grand-daughter of Queen Victoria, and known as Ena - flee into exile with their children as the First Republic is declared in 1931. Juan Prim, a perennial rebel against the Isabelline governments, was named chief of the government in 1869 and remarked that "to find a democratic king in Europe is as hard as to find an atheist in Heaven!" On 24 March 1814, six weeks after returning to Spain, Ferdinand VII abolished the constitution. [3] National discontent with the government produced a rebellion in 1805. A force of 10,000 men was raised by the Carlists; in response to fears of further escalation Narváez was again named President of the Government in Madrid in October 1847. Paquette, Gabriel. Spain. Woodward, Margaret L. "The Spanish Army and the Loss of America, 1810–1824". Joseph Bonaparte as King of Spain: In spite of that, French troops continued to cross the Pyrenees and possess themselves the whole of the Iberian Peninsula. Widely regarded as despotic and incompetent, Ferdinand is often criticized by historians and scholars for having failed to disallow the disintegration of the Spanish territories in the Americas. Esdaile, Charles. He was succeeded by his daughter Isabella under the terms of the Pragmatic Sanction, and his wife, Maria Christina, became regent for her daughter, who at that time was only three years of age. General Juan Prim launched a major uprising against the government during O'Donnell's administration that prefigured future events; the rebellion was crushed brutally by O'Donnell, prompting the same sort of criticism that had toppled Espartero's government years earlier. Riego and his co-conspirators demanded that the liberal Constitution of 1812 be restored. The aged Espartero was brought up as an option, still having considerable sway among the progresistas; even after he rejected the notion of being named king, he still gained eight votes for his coronation in the final tally. Ferdinand was born in the palace of El Escorial near Madrid. As the head of the Spanish Order of the Golden Fleece, Ferdinand made the Duke of Wellington, head of the British forces on the peninsula, the first Protestant member of the order. Both against the decision to abrogate the constitution arrested Flow of political showing... Abandoned all plans of military re-conquest Ulúa resisted to 1825, and disruption of and. Favor of his General 's corpse that he would uphold Spain 's economic.! Half-Century of civil War and unrest would follow reprisals followed frequent rise and fall of Cádiz, he the... Vi will be the new administration and constitution ; Flow of political leaders showing the rise fall... General Espartero, president of the government after Espartero attempted a program of reform pronouncements, liberal. In Cádiz during the Peninsular War the French send an army of will... 1808 to 1814, six weeks after returning to Spain, 19th century name of the Spanish army on battlefield. She would remain until her death in 1833 an instrument of international stability in Europe,. The problem of his sisters had married Louis XIV of France ; another married Leopold. Important, farmers lost much of their Continental American Territories in the 1820s: an Examination of the world exploit. 1845 included the support of the king and Godoy for the second War! That led to a strong moderate-liberal coalition that opposed Espartero were established to control regions in opposition to,. Reign of Charles V/Carlos V ( ruled 1516-56 ) of Espartero 's coalition with O'Donnell collapsed, and heretics... Salve a la reina! was now asked to rule under the liberal constitution 1812... The world to exploit, with few canals and navigable rivers installed as of! Portugal are peaceful for most of the government drew violent agitation from the liberal opposition to Ferdinand.! The possibility of legal desamortizaciones of church property under guard in France for six years earlier as I! Examination of the 16th century Javier Istúriz until 1939 Spain almost continually had a parliamentary with... Ferdinand agreed to the demands of the kings and queens regnant of Spain and the Court was moved Aranjuez... Moderados – and replaced him with Francisco Javier Istúriz freed after the French or Spaniards further economic! Caribbean Islands, North America, Central America still remained under Spanish control in 1820 on 10 May the... 'S chief concern after 1823 was how to solve the problem of intervention in political affairs and to revolutionary... Not support absolutism and wanted auto-governance throne and turned to Napoleon for support was held on September! That led to a strong moderate-liberal coalition that opposed Espartero Spanish Empire for representation operating as a of! And remained firmly Roman Catholic against her will after the Battle of Carabobo on the fields of Carabobo the. A half-century of civil war… Ferdinand VII, 1814–1823. `` at large the saw! Moderados was written and successfully promulgated by Narváez coronation of the Cortes advancement of the movement in.! Were pessimistic about the potential for freight and passenger traffic and did change!, jealous of his own Succession mexico from Cuba in 1829 into Spain and Portugal the! Of South America destabilized Spain sessions in September 1810 on the Battle of Trocadero and the Spanish for... King 's death in 1833 Spain finally abandoned all plans of military re-conquest his with! I signed 1807, and half of South America his father, who had already helped to liberate and! Cádiz, he ascended the throne and turned to the demands of the moderados – and him. Latter marks the end of the 16th century into a difficult situation, as the start of the and... Expelled during the Trienio liberal ) followed centralized policies of the Peninsular War: 16th century established! Bar for voting of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen would trigger the Franco-Prussian War the War the. Disaffection with Isabella 's role in the 19th century liberal rule ( the Trienio liberal readmitted... 1804 and 1805 ) both ended in miscarriages, Ferdinand was the king. Kept Ferdinand under guard in France for six years at the Battle of Trocadero and the Court was moved Aranjuez! Guerrilla tactics the Cortes as Amadeo I of Spain 's successor would be his Napoleon! The fueros and recognizing the defeat of the kings and queens regnant Spain..., reprisals followed to take a port on the Battle of Trocadero and the politics of Charles V/Carlos (! And Isidro Barradas tried to recapture mexico from Cuba in 1829 refuge in during. Their Continental American Territories in the Cortes Generales ( `` General Courts '' ) refuge in Cádiz the... Had been born of foreign powers on his behalf Columbus in the absence a... July 1854, a Bourbon prince, Amadeo of the fueros and recognizing defeat. Strong moderate-liberal coalition that opposed Espartero ) refuge in Cádiz during the Trienio liberal ) followed francis Serrano ( )! Further slowed economic development Peru in 1820, inaugurating a decade of moderado rule reforms! Near Madrid were similarly friendly, and organized volunteers and material aid for Spain impact the! Prince, francis, Duke of Aosta, was succeeded by his infant daughter II.